


(Buttermilk) Biscuit In The Basket

by runswithsourwolf



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: I certainly have no idea, I'm bad at both titles and summaries so forgive me, I'm not writing this so much as it's just happening on it's own, M/M, Mentions of Mental Illness, Multi, Some ships are subject to change depending on where this story takes me., also probably bad at writing in general, maybe fucking by chapter two, maybe slow burn, mentions of Kent and Jacks past, mentions of bullying, mentions of drug overdose, more like takes itself, please send help., ~John Mulaney mid-prostate exam voice~ I'm sOrRy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-13 17:30:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9134131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runswithsourwolf/pseuds/runswithsourwolf
Summary: Change was good. Even if that change meant moving across the country where his closest friend was over 500 miles away. At least that's what Eric Bittle kept telling himself when he ended up working in PR for the Las Vegas Aces. Working with your ex would suck, so Bitty's glad he's found this job, but he's not too sure that working with your ex's ex will be any better.~Excerpt~"God," Parse huffed "You don't even see it do you? Eric Bittle, you're so out of my league it's like I'm playing co-ed, no check peewee and you're a leading scorer with the NHL.""Kent, you quite literally are a leading scorer in the NHL and I quite literally played co-ed, no check pee wee hockey. I walked under a billboard with your face on it on my way to Starbucks, you visit the children's hospital at least twice a month and are the face of You Can Play. How of all people, am I out of your league?"





	1. 2,710.2 miles

**Author's Note:**

> Biscuit in the Basket- Hockey term- to put the puck in the net (to score a goal).
> 
> I know Bitty, Chowder, Dex and Nursey are not the same age and would still be in college Bitty's first year post grad so let's just assume that Bitty took an extra year since he struggled so hard to find a major. I didn't want to leave them on the other side of the country.

Bitty logically new this move would be good for him.

It’s just, Vegas felt so far away from everything and everyone he loved that to say he was nervous would be an understatement.

The original plan post-Samwell had been to move in with Jack, but seeing as their relationship had ended up working out better in theory than in practice that hen had obviously flown the coop. Which meant it came down to either moving back home to Madison or moving to Vegas which was nowhere near his family or Samwell (2,017.4 and 2,710.2 miles respectively). Vegas was far but he had no desire to go back to Madison for anything other than visiting his parents.

The only real saving grace was that Chowder was only 527 miles away in San Jose with the Sharks and had promised to come visit over a long weekend, and that post-grad Dex had gotten into grad school at Stanford and Nursey had happily followed him so they were only 545 miles away and had also planned long weekends out to see Bitty as Dex’s schedule allowed.

I mean sure Shitty and Lardo were still in Boston (2,374 miles) and Ransom and Holster were in Maryland (2,408 miles) and Whiskey and Tango were still at Samwell and Jack and him still weren’t having more than stilted text conversations because they couldn’t quite figure out how to be friends now that their relationship was well and truly 6ft under but he had skype and Jack and him would work it out eventually, probably.

Vegas was far away but change was good and his job was beyond what most recent college grads could expect. But was also the cause of Bitty’s second biggest stressor about this move to Vegas.

Bitty had eventually settled on Communications with a focus in Public Relations as a major while at Samwell. He had gotten an on-campus job running SMH’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and the team had seen a notable increase in online followers and ticket sales since he had started. The summers between junior and senior year and senior year pt1 and senior year pt2 he had gotten an internship with the Falconers doing their social media and had similar success. Which had lead to a post-grad job offer.

After their break-up Jack had assured him that it would not be awkward for Bitty to work for the Falconers and that they would be total professionals but Bitty knew better. As much as Bitty knew that his and Jack’s relationship would never be rekindled, he would always carry a torch for that boy and working together would obviously be difficult with everything so fresh.

Georgia Martin was a saint, however, and the second she heard the Aces were looking for a new Social Media and Public Relations guru she had taken it upon herself to go ahead and submit Bitty’s resume along with a glowing letter of recommendation. Which Bitty would be eternally grateful for because it allowed him to avoid that awkward working with your ex situation, but also Kent Parson.

Sure, Bitty had done his research, there were over 600,000 permanent residents of Las Vegas (as of 2013 at least) and millions of tourists. If he were working literally anywhere other than with the Aces the chances of him seeing Kent were next to nothing. But Bitty was working for the Aces and Kent was their captain, the chances of him seeing Kent within 24 hours of moving to Vegas were looking like 100%.

The thing was, Bitty’s opinion on Kent had…..evolved.

Post Epikegster his opinion on Kent was that he was human garbage and if Bitty never saw his pretty boy face again, it would be too soon.

And that opinion lasted for a while.

But eventually, Jack opened up to Bitty more about his relationship with Kent.

Kent and Jack had been best friends in juniors. Kent didn’t see Jack as Bad Bob’s son, he saw him as a great hockey player and teammate and they had lit up the ice together. Eventually their chemistry on the ice had leaked into their relationship off the ice and they went from friends to friends who made out to friends who were working on becoming something more.

Kent had been in love with Jack and Jack could have probably been in love with Kent, except with his struggles with his anxiety and low self-worth he wasn’t in a place to love anyone.

While Jack was sure it bothered Kent that he was clearly more invested in them than Jack was, Kent never let it show. He never stopped being the friend he had always been to Jack, which almost made it worse.

Jack started pushing Kent away months before everything happened. And the qualities that made Jack and Kent so compatible when they weren’t fighting each other made them absolutely explosive when they were.

Their ability to silently read the other meant they knew exactly how to hit where it hurt. Their way of challenging the other to work harder and push more on the ice, lent them to clashing harder off. By the time the draft rolled around and Jack overdosed, he and Kent had already done some serious damage to each other.

After the draft and his overdose, Kent tried to reach out. Whatever had been said, he still considered Jack one of his best friends, but Jack shut him out. He didn’t take his calls or respond to his texts and he asked his parents to do the same. Which had led to a lot of pent up emotions on both ends and the collision at Epikegster that Bitty had unfortunately witnessed.

Jack and Kent were both to blame for the downfall of their relationship, it just took Jack awhile to get to the point where he could acknowledge it. And without the notion that Kent was the actual worst clouding his judgement, Bitty could see how Jack had hurt him.

It was in the way Kent had offered a sincere “Good Game” to Jack after the Aces played the Falconers for the first time and Jack had grunted and skated by without so much as a glance. Even from up in the emptying stands, Bitty could see the flash a disappointed hurt in Kent’s eyes and the way his shoulders dropped before he could skate it off.

It was the texts, all from the same unknown number, that Bitty had stumbled upon when looking for a link he had sent Jack. They had all said variations of the same thing: “I’m sorry. If you ever need me, I’m here.” Jack never responded.

Bitty may never know exactly what Kent had done to Jack and vice versa, he doubted anyone but the two of them ever would. But with the little background information he had, it was plain to see that both of those boys had done a number on each other and they were both still hurting and licking their wounds even years down the road.

So, Bitty’s opinion on Kent had evolved and he didn’t dread working with him the same way he would have a few short years ago. But he was nervous as to how Kent would take to working with him.

 

After all, one of them had gotten an almost 3-year relatively happy relationship that ended amicably and the other had gotten shrapnel wounds and 6+ years of unacknowledged apologies.


	2. Blueberry Mint Tart

Bitty knew he lucked out.

His parents were willing to spot him for his first month’s rent and he’s made enough money off his internship, his Youtube and selling various baked good to interested students at Samwell to do a decent job furnishing it. 

It’s nothing special. A one bedroom apartment in the relatively new SW complex off Durango Dr. The kitchen is nowhere near as big as he would like and the clubhouse looks like it was decorated by the Queen of Hearts but it’s got a pool, is clean, and the interiors are nice, crisp and modern looking. As far as first apartments rented sight unseen go, he probably couldn’t do any better. 

He moved in a week before he was set to start with the Aces so he could get settled and figure out the lay of the land. So far he had only been in once to fill out some paper work and meet with the GM and his supervisor. He gets along well with them and is excited for the work. 

But now that week is up and he’s starting work in the morning and he can’t seem to untie his stomach from the very impressive knot it’s becoming. This isn’t an internship where he has someone checking everything he does before he posts it or social media for a college team from a small school. 

 

 

This is social media for the Las Vegas Aces. Sure, he’ll have some help at first, till he gets a good grip on the organizations public voice but he’s relatively on his own. And not only is he on his own, he’s on his own representing one of the biggest teams in the league. If you know Hockey, you know the Aces. They’ve always had a great social media presence and their players have always been fantastic. Hell, they’ve won the cup 2 times just since Parson has been captain. 

And that’s not even touching his nerves about meeting the team.

His only consolation there is that he knows that Kent’s already aware that he’s the new social media coordinator for the team. Or he knows Eric R. Bittle is. He can’t recall if the few times he and Kent have interacted that he’s ever been referred to as anything other than Bitty, so it’s entirely possible he won’t notice until after they’ve met face to face. 

He had gotten an email from the Captain the day after he had finish signing all the hiring contracts and NDAs the Aces required all employees to sign before he even moved out to Vegas. It wasn’t much just a short email congratulating him for getting the job, welcoming him to the team and stating that he looked forward to getting to work with him in the future. 

That had been about 3 weeks ago but then again about a day after he had moved to Vegas he received another email from the Captain. It was much the same as the first, professional, welcoming him to Vegas, reiterating that he was looking forward to getting to work with him but this email also included his phone number and a request that if he ever needed anything not to hesitate to call.   
Bitty had programed it into his phone with no intention of calling for anything other than work. 

Unless of course Kent called first but what was the likelihood of that. 

 

Come morning Bitty couldn’t say he was any less nervous than he was the night before, but Bitty was also a firm believer that you were what you presented to others and the way he figured even if he didn’t feel confident he could at least look like the most confident person to ever set foot into the T-Mobile Arena. 

Bitty huffed as he took a last look into the mirror.   
Steel grey dress slacks, deep navy button down, steel gray sports coat and mahogany oxfords: check  
Sunglasses: check.  
Wallet, keys and phone: Check.  
Satchel with laptop, chargers, work samples, team roster and player info packets: check

There was literally nothing else left for him to do but walk out the door, get in his car and go. Why was that the hardest part so far?

 

Three hours later found Bitty laughing with Elizabeth Winslaw (“Call me, Liz. Everyone does”) the head of the Aces public relations in the Arena’s atrium. They were getting ready to head out with, Marco Sanchez (The Aces GM), for an informal work lunch at Pub 1842. 

Bitty felt he had gotten lucky. It was the off season so while all the players would be in throughout the day for gym and/or ice time, it was informal. At most he might meet 3 or 4 at the same time, but it was better than meeting the whole team all at once. Much easier on his already frazzled first-day-of-work nerves.

So far he had met, both goalies and most of the players on the active roster. Including one of their goalies, Nathan Ignatieff or Natty. Whom he had to immediately text Chowder about, the boy may be the world’s biggest Sharks fan, and their current goalie, but he thought Natty was a god.

So far the only players he had yet to meet were: Swoops, Kent and the team’s other goalie, Roger Winslow. (Natty: “Team call him Pigsty. He smells all the time. Hasn’t found shower yet, No?)

So far Bitty couldn’t be happier. The boys all seemed very welcoming and he was excited for this lunch and to hear more from Liz and Marco about where they saw the Aces social media going and how they wanted to see it get there.  
As Bitty glanced down at this phone to check to see if Mama had replied to his text about the Blueberry mint tart ingredients he heard the voice of the person he was most nervous to see.

“Bittle! It’s good to see you again man.” Kent said, reaching striding up to Bitty, accepting his hand shake before pulling him into a quick one armed hug. 

Even in track pants and a work out shirt, obviously finishing up a run, Kent Parson looked like some sort of classic Hollywood dreamboat crossed with a Greek demigod. It was truly unfair.

“Kent,” Bitty replied, surprised at the other man’s enthusiastic greeting “It’s great to see you too. How are you?”

“I’m good, man.” Kent laughed, “ Kit’s still got Swoop’s dog beat by 500 followers on Instagram so I couldn’t be better really.”

“Well, Kit does have her classic good looks on her side.”

“Yea, she does, she’s the cutest cat in the world to be honest. I’ve got to go meet with one of the trainers but I’ll text you or something, we need to catch up.” 

Bitty said his goodbyes and mentally shook himself off. 

“I didn’t know you were already friends with Kent.” Liz said stepping up behind him.

“Sort of,” Bitty shrugged. “I met him through Jack and we’ve spoken a couple of times and interacted on Twitter. It’s been awhile though.”

“Well, that’s good. He’s probably the most media…presentable player on the team, very charming, you’ll probably be featuring him a lot. Anyway, Marco texted and said to meet him out front. He’s bringing his car around.”

Bitty nodded and followed Liz out the door but his mind was still back on his frankly bizarre interaction with Kent. 

He hadn’t lied to Liz. He had met Jack more than once. There had been the party at Samwell of course but as Jack opened up more to Bitty about what exactly had happened between Kent and him, Bitty had encouraged him to, at his comfort, reach out to Kent. He knew Jack was the type of person who naturally wanted closure and didn’t like to have ‘what ifs’ hanging over his head and figured that even if reaching out only resulted in them permanently ending their friendship it would be better than the open wound they still both had.

It had started with stilted text conversation and one or two even more awkward phone calls before the boys had decided to meet for dinner after the next Aces Falconers game. Jack had persuaded Bitty to come along and while conversation between Jack and Kent definitely held a formal, stilted quality about it, Bitty found it relatively easy to talk to the other man and left the dinner with high hopes that with some perseverance the two boys could work it out. 

After the dinner, Kent had followed Bitty on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. They didn’t do much more than occasionally send chirps back and forth on twitter, like each other pictures on Instagram or send the occasional generic picture on Snapchat, but it was something.

It wasn’t enough conversation to necessarily warrant the warm reaction Bitty had gotten from Kent but he supposed Kent was probably just trying to be friendly. After Jack had explained more of his and Kent’s falling out, Bitty hadn’t had any problem with Kent and they got along rather will the few times they had hung out and Bitty was sure Jack had texted Kent to look out for him. Jack had known how nervous he was about the move and whether or not they were dating the man had always had a way of looking out for him both on and off the ice.

Bitty chose not to dwell too much on the strange interaction. He wouldn’t question friendliness in a city where he didn’t know anyone. He would take all the friendliness he could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The apartment Bitty's living in is a real place in Vegas and it's clubhouse really does look like the Queen of Hearts decorated it.
> 
> I don't know anything about Hockey. I live in Georgia and our Hockey team left a long ass time ago. Also it's always hot so ice sports are not exactly something the average person pays attention to so forgive me for my lack of knowledge. I'm attempting to learn as I go.
> 
> I can honestly not remember if Swoops is a canon member of the Aces or if he's an original character that the whole fandom adopted also does anyone know if he has a full name?
> 
> Idk i'm not really in love with this chapter but for some reason it was really rough for me. Hopefully next chapter comes easier :)


End file.
